Remco Merbis | Director & photographer

Some moments from a new short. What Light Remains - A young man rehearsing a speech for his brother’s eighteenth birthday confronts the inherited silence of masculinity, until music drifting into an empty hall draws him toward an unexpected release. Shot in one day as a collaboration between an amazing group of people. Link to full film in bio. Introducing Ewan Hazlewood @ewanhazlewood Written & Directed by Remco Merbis @remcomerbis Cinematographer - Lewis Jelley @lewisjelleydop Camera operators - Lewis Jelley | Remco Merbis 1st AC - Kelly Jones @joshkellyjones_assistantcamera 2nd AC - Andrea Jovanovska @andrea_jova Gaffer - Dave Anderson @dave_thegaffer Spark - Michael Sides @themichaelsides Producer - Remco Merbis Original score by The Goneos Brothers Original song The Walls Come Down by The Goneos Brothers Sound recordist - Sam Wiltshire @sam_wiltshire1998 Art Director - Lois Bryant @lois_bry.ant Assistant Art Director - Sasha Belgrave @sashabelgrave Hair & Make-up - Rebecca Rose Robinson @rebeccarosemua Production Assistant - Mikey Sneddon @mikeycsneddon Production Assistant - Danny Land @danny_land Production Assistant - Sam Smith @sam___sm1th BTS / Unit Photographer - Liam Keown @keownphoto BTS / Video / Fuji Camera connect - Cameron O’Connell @video.cameron Post-production - Remco Merbis Cleaner cameo - Sasha Belgrave Fujifilm GFX Eterna 55 - Cameron O’Connell Camera equipment - Visual Impact Bristol @virentaluk Lighting Equipment - Pace Rentals @pacerentals Shot on location at Hanham Community Centre, Bristol, UK #shortfilm #shortfilms #indiefilm #independentfilm #filmmaking #britishfilm #bristolfilm #filmfestival #shortfilmfestival #filmdirector #directorofphotography #filmcommunity #screendaily #FujifilmGFXEterna55

New short film, a solo project with actors @violetrmorris and @thetylerjackpringle shot over a weekend in North Devon. Set in a quiet coastal town, Days Like These is a tender portrait of youth and nostalgia. In a world in flux, two friends retreat from the noise for just a little longer — to roam, remember, and face the quiet truth of moving on. This generation — Gen Z — is often called the anxious generation, and not without reason. They’re inheriting a world on fire, both literally and figuratively. I’ve seen this first-hand, not just in research, but in my own home — watching my daughters and their friends grow up with more uncertainty than I ever had at their age. Days Like These is both personal and observational. It’s about growing up gently, even when the world won’t wait. Link to film in bio. Or you can search for it on YouTube. Shot entirely on a Sony A1 II and the Sony FE 28-70 f/2 lens. #shortfilm #comingofage #friendship #nostalgia #climateanxiety #mentalhealth #introspective #emotionaldrama #visualstorytelling #cinematicshort #sonya1 #sony2870mm

During a nostalgic summer, two sixth formers fall in love through their shared passion for music. Written & Directed by me Cinematographer - Dan Hilltout | @danhilltout_dp A Pixillion Film Executive producer - Me Producer - Paul Burke | @poburke Cast Violet Morris | @violetrmorris Peter Devlin | @peterdevlin Ariane Terrell | @aria.terrell Ebube Chukwuma | @ebubechukwuma_ Leila Stringer | @leila_stringer Shay Thurston | @shaythurston Toby Lithgoe | @tobylythgoe Bita Taghavi | @ladycynic Sarah Fyson | @sarahfyson Casting Director — Katy Carmichael Intimacy Director — Lex Kaby | @director_intimacy_bristol 1st AD — Paul Burke | @poburke Focus Puller — Adam Shaikh | @ac_adamshaikh Focus Puller — Liam Rees | @liamjrees Gaffer — Frankie Ashcroft | @frankieashcroft_lighting Spark — George Bleek | @georgebleekfilm Production Sound Mixer — Drew Sewell | @justdrewsound Sound Assistant — Aaron Kennedy | @aaronkennedysound Sound Assistant — Ian Bedwell | @wellbed99 Art Director — Eva Wright | @just.being.eva Assistant Art Director — Steph Lemes | stephlame_ Hair & Make Up — Soaf Wyatt | @soafmua Runner — Tamsin Merbis Runner — Sasha Merbis Kit Hire — Pace Rentals | @pacerentals Format — ARRI Alexa 35 x Olympus OM’s Editors — Me and Simon Davy | @simonjdavy Colourist — Cam Sander | @cam_sander Music — Broadway Project Sound Design — Gerardo Pastor-Ruiz | gerardo.pr.audio Graphics — Clout Branding | @cloutbranding Extras - Tamsin Merbis, Sasha Merbis, Ava Sumpter, Lou McLean, Fraser McAdden, David Onovo, Fortune Onovo, Melody Greenwood, Sam Wood, Izy Toz, Will Burke, Fraser Rickards, Kyle Davies, Will Jones, Ella Jones, Daniel Cummings With special thanks to @omniproductionsbristol , Alex Morcom, @jasonleebailey , Chepstow Classic Buses, @bristol_school_of_acting @arri @egg.lenses @lens_addiction #arri #lensaddiction #alexa35 #olympusom #olympus #vintagelenses #cinedreamlenses #nostalgic #lovestory #summerlove

Street portraits from the spice and flower market in Ahmedabad, made during a recent job. The people there were so warm and generous with their time. Strangers who stopped what they were doing and let me in, just like that. #India #peopleofindia #travelphotography #streetphotography #commercialphotography

. Congratulations to "What Light Remains" April 2026 Awarded: Best Actor - Ewan Hazlewood Touchstone IFF Featured Page: /awardwinner/tiff1664 Director - Remco Merbis Key Cast - Ewan Hazlewood #filmfestival #indie #touchstoneindependentfilmfestival #filmmaker #filmmakers #shortfilm #shortfilmfestival #shortfilmfestivals #awardwinner #laurel #filmfreeway #directorofphotography #cinematography #editor #sounddesign #production #shortfilms #shortfilmfestivals #films #film #photography#actor

Some performances you cast and hope for. With Ewan, I cast and knew. When you write a character yourself, you carry a very specific image of them. The way they hold themselves. The quality of stillness they bring into a room. Casting is the work of finding out whether that internal picture and a real person can become one thing. With Ewan Hazlewood, they did. What Light Remains needed someone who could hold a room alone for seven minutes. A young man rehearsing a speech no one is there to hear, working through years of inherited silence, and then finding release through movement. It asks for complete emotional honesty from the first frame to the last. Watching the Belgrade International Short Film Festival call his performance “a revelation” is wonderful. But it didn’t surprise me. Thank you, Ewan. Genuinely proud of what you made. @ewanhazlewood Photos: @keownphoto #shortfilm #filmmaking #actor #behindthescenes #casting

Behind the scenes at the What Light Remains short film shoot. Thank you to all the incredible people involved in this. 🙌🏻🔥 Introducing Ewan Hazlewood @ewanhazlewood Written & Directed by Remco Merbis @remcomerbis Cinematographer - Lewis Jelley @lewisjelleydop Camera operators - Lewis Jelley | Remco Merbis 1st AC - Kelly Jones @joshkellyjones_assistantcamera 2nd AC - Andrea Jovanovska @andrea_jova Gaffer - Dave Anderson @dave_thegaffer Spark - Michael Sides @themichaelsides Producer - Remco Merbis Original score by The Goneos Brothers Original song The Walls Come Down by The Goneos Brothers Sound recordist - Sam Wiltshire @sam_wiltshire1998 Art Director - Lois Bryant @lois_bry.ant Assistant Art Director - Sasha Belgrave @sashabelgrave Hair & Make-up - Rebecca Rose Robinson @rebeccarosemua Production Assistant - Mikey Sneddon @mikeycsneddon Production Assistant - Danny Land @danny_land Production Assistant - Sam Smith @sam___sm1th BTS / Unit Photographer - Liam Keown @keownphoto BTS / Video / Fuji Camera connect - Cameron O’Connell @video.cameron Post-production - Remco Merbis Cleaner cameo - Sasha Belgrave Fujifilm GFX Eterna 55 - Cameron O’Connell Camera equipment - Visual Impact Bristol @virentaluk Lighting Equipment - Pace Rentals @pacerentals Shot on location at Hanham Community Centre, Bristol, UK #shortfilm #behindthescenes #filmmaking #fujifilmgfxeterna55 #shortfilmfestival

UNFILTERED by Remco Merbis 💖 Step into an intimate and powerful story about identity, self-image, and the pressure to be perfect. Through raw video letters, a young woman confronts beauty standards, comparison, and the reality behind the filter. Honest. Unedited. Deeply human. Join us for the live screening ✨

Episode 2 takes us to the rugged hills of Argyll & Bute, where we meet Winston Churchill - wildlife ranger, conservationist, and the man behind a business rooted in sustainability, the rural economy, and life on the west coast of Scotland. Winston gives us an insight into the reality and work behind wild venison - why he does what he does, the conservation impact of stalking, and why incorporating wild venison into the food system benefits both the Scottish landscape and the food chain. His message is simple: it’s not about the love of shooting, but about connecting with what the mountains around us can provide and ensuring the deer he manages are put to good use rather than wasted. His knowledge, experience, and humour made it a privilege to spend the day alongside him. After the hill, we explore an ancient method of pit cooking, a Neolithic technique thousands of years old. This was a first for us - a process full of uncertainty, effort, and magic. We take you through every step, from the physical work of preparing the fire and earth oven to the slow roasting that reconnects us with the effort and energy of preparing a meal far from a convenient kitchen. Pit cooking is found across many cultures worldwide and is considered one of the earliest methods of slow roasting or braising. What resonated with us most was the physicality and energy of cooking, the hours spent wondering, hoping, and exploring - a lost connection to food we wanted to share. A note to viewers: This episode is raw and honest. It portrays the reality behind wild meat and the process that brings it from the hills to the plate. If you do not agree with the consumption of animals, or are uncomfortable with the hands-on, muddy, joyful way we interact with food here, this episode may not be for you. Fire + Salt aims to represent stories and people authentically, without shying away from the visual or physical reality of the food we eat. We embrace the process fully and consciously show it as it is. Creative Director @remcomerbis Colourist @iainpennington Always a pleasure to work with these two incredible humans xx #scotland #conservation #scotlandexplore #hunting #outdoorcooking

Egypt, January 2026 #EgyptTravel #PyramidsOfGiza #CairoTravel #TravelPhotography #Wanderlust

Caïro, Egypt. January ‘26 Sony a7C R / Sony FE 40mm f/2.5 G #CairoStreets #StreetPhotography #TravelPhotography #EverydayCairo #egypttravel

Episode 2 of Fire + Salt will soon be available for all you wonderful people to watch. But first, to celebrate our love for a good trailer, here’s a little something to paint the picture. In this episode, we head to the rugged hills of Argyll & Bute to meet Winston Churchill - wildlife ranger, conservationist, and the man behind a business rooted in sustainability, the rural economy, and life on Scotland’s west coast. Later, we dive into a Scottish pit-cooking experiment - a primal method that connects cultures across the world. Creative Director @remcomerbis Colourist @iainpennington The three of us are in one magical collaboration, and we’re already exploring ideas for Episode 3. If you have a story or idea worth exploring, we’d love to hear from you! #scotland #scotlandexplore #visitscotland #fire #outdoorcooking